Charles Moffett

American free jazz drummer. Moffett attended high school with Ornette Coleman. Before switching to drums, he began his musical career as a trumpeter. At age 13, he played trumpet with Jimmy Witherspoon and later formed a band, the Jam Jivers, with fellow students Coleman and Prince Lasha. After switching to drums, Moffett briefly performed with Little Richard. Moffett served in the United States Navy and married in 1953. In 1961, he moved to New York City to work with Coleman, but the saxophonist soon went into a brief retirement period. Moffett worked with Sonny Rollins, and led his own group. When Coleman returned to performing in 1964, he formed a trio with Moffett and bassist David Izenzon. Moffett began teaching music at New York Public Schools as a way to make ends meet when Coleman made only sporadic performances. He moved to Oakland, California, where he served as the city's music director, and was later the principal of the alternative Odyssey public school in Berkeley in the mid-1970s. The title of his first solo album The Gift is a reference to his love of teaching music. Moffett died on 14 February 1997. His five children are musicians. Link to Wikipedia biography